In the spirit of Halloween, I figure now is a good time to warn you about a few of the ghouls who prey upon unsuspecting songwriters. Beware of…
VAMPIRES
There are people out there who will suck the life out of your dreams. Dwelling in (and on) the darkness, these predators never see the bright side or the silver living. Little by little, their biting comments slowly bleed you of your hope and optimism (“What makes you so special?” “Oh, the music biz is rigged- you’ll never make it.”). They might look like your friends, but they are dead inside. Avoid these vampires- once their negative, pessimistic attitude sinks its teeth into you, you start to become one of them.
ZOMBIES
They are among us, and their number is legion. They shuffle off to their soul-sucking day jobs like a mindless herd. They never dream. They just respond to whatever happens to be in front of them. They stagger back home and sit mindlessly in front of a TV or computer screen for hours feasting upon whatever catches their eye (“lightsss… sooo… preeetttyy…) It’s easy to turn into a zombie because being a zombie means doing the easy, numb, thoughtless thing. Spend too much of your time with the zombies and you’ll wake up one day to realize you’ve been sleepwalking through life- just like one of them.
WEREWOLVES
If you want songwriting success, you must avoid running with a pack of werewolves. These are folks who only “turn into” songwriters about once a month. The majority of the time, you’d never suspect they have that hidden side. They think they can just go about “normal life” for a few weeks, then suddenly unleash their inner songwriter for a night or two and somehow make a killing in the music business. No, the music biz is not so easily tamed. You can’t just go into beast mode on rare occasions and create a career. You need to run with a pack that is ALWAYS hungry and ALWAYS hunting. Don’t be a werewolf. Be a REAL wolf.
What about you? What are some songwriting ghouls that you have encountered? I’d love to hear from you!
Happy HOWLoween!
Brent
Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ray Stevens, and more. He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.
I have encountered the kind of songwriter who wears a mask. Well, just one time in particular. And that mask is of a hit pro writer type. This person was trying to elevate himself in others eyes to a level that he hasn’t reached yet, but in the meantime he was treating others with disrespect. I think we need to beware of people who wear masks to cover up their own insecurities. Whatever level we are at as songwriters is our true face. There is a big difference between confidence (which is a good thing) and treating others poorly to make a point that you “think” you are above them. I have found that the pro writers in Nashville who have truly gotten some success are the most down to earth and nicest humans. Nothing to prove, no masks.
Creative analogies; makes for entertaining reading.
Wow! And I like werewolf movies and stories! And I like Lon Chaney! And I like vampires Lugosi, Palance and Lee! Danggit! But I do not like the Twilight movie series. Anyway, I entered a few of my songs to Song Of The Year this past summer, 2015. I received an email from “Jennifer” stating that I didnt place, but one of my songs got as far as “Semi-Finalist” and that song title along with my name, Nick S., would be on Song Of The Year’s website as my own page entitled, “Semi-Finalist.” IDK what to make of these people since I cannot find that page, and since I have emailed them and “Jennifer” four times with no response. I said NO response. Wow! Oh well, I expect nothing from this world. Oop! ; )))
There’s also the Ghosts out there. These are writers who you can see right though…